Being a teenager is filled with ups, downs and everything in between. In this horrible generation, many teenagers face bullying, body shaming, issues with self-esteem, anxiety, and various other distressing experiences. Being a teenager is difficult; you’re either too short, too tall, flat, too skinny, too fat, too veiny, too short hair, way too long hair, too many piercings, too many pimples, too many freckles, too hairy, bad teeth, too much makeup, caked, ugly clothes, out of shape, bad at sports, fag, etc. Here is just a taste of what teens say to put their peers down. You never know what the other is going through, these comments could ruin a teenager’s life, causing them pain—increasing insecurities, and mental problems. 

You wake up every day, wanting to be better, to be someone you’re not. Every day you have a new goal—some being more realistic than others. What’s the downside to having all these goals? They simply aren’t you.

Jealousy plays a huge role in the teenage years. If you don’t have a “thigh gap,” you’re considered fat. If you don’t get straight A’s, you’re an idiot. Social media is a huge factor. Don’t get me wrong I’m a teenager, and I know how annoying it is listening to parents talking about how social media never used to be like this— and how “we never had a phone until university!” While teenagers are at it, they see a girl’s posts out with her friends and looking pretty. Here is when the jealousy factor comes into great use. Thoughts like, “Why can’t I look like this?” and “How is this fair?” come to mind. As you continue scrolling, you see a picture with all your friends, but you, and thoughts such as, “Why wasn’t I invited?” and “Do they even like me?” come into play. All bad things escalate, and way more stress is added after simply checking your Instagram feeds or stories.

Imagine a world with no judgement where everyone could do their own thing—something they are passionate about, without being judged. You could wear whatever you wanted, you could participate in your choice of hobby, and you could eat however you wanted. You could have confidence everywhere you went. Now come back to reality, you can’t enter a room without getting judged by someone; you can’t post a photo without getting hate comments and getting made fun of. Being a teenager is incredibly hard, to say the least, and for some reason…impossible.

—Joelle Al-Nimri